Adventures in the Baby Mama Era

Disclaimer: This blog is an ANALYSIS. PLEASE take it as such.

In a recent story released by CNN, 40% of people polled felt that marriage was obsolete and unnecessary to life. While, certainly, an alarming statistic, should it really be that surprising in the “Era of the Baby Mama”? The study, also, distinguished the primary reasons for the perceived decline in the amount of priority placed on marriage existing in the desire to achieve one’s individual goals and the lack of associated privileges. In Layman’s terms, people want to accomplish everything they want BEFORE marriage, instead of building with someone in marriage. Because both, men and women, are able to achieve financial independence, marriage is unneeded for financial stability.

Oh, and associated privileges? Seldom activities are, now, saved for the institution of marriage. Sex? Virgins are more uncommon than a bald eagle being kept as a pet by a 10 year old. Children? Try again. Hence the term “Era of the Baby Mama”, and to top it off divorce rates are soaring at 50%! So, I pose the question: What are we to do when everything around us sends an anti-marriage message? On the one hand, we could give up, as a people, impregnate whomever, and live our lives as bachelors and bachelorettes until we hit 50, and then, settle down with someone we can tolerate. OR we could identify the problem and work through it.

Is it possible that we have become too obsessed with outsmarting our fear of experiencing a failed marriage? Has our pessimistic certainty that if we marry, we would be in the divorce half instead of the “happily ever after” half consumed us? Perhaps, as the frequency of divorce has risen, marriages have become viewed more as relationships with divorce as the option of a more complicated break-up prior to moving onto the next marriage or vacation in Singlesville, where people live it up until they get lonely, then, become desperate for exclusive and meaningful affection. POW!

There is a distinct reason why arranged marriages boast a divorce rate of 5%, as opposed to when the divorce card is in the deck, and it gets played like the big joker in spades. Now, clearly, I am not married, but while that may be true, I do know that work in ANY relationship is pivotal, and if one has not prepared himself (or herself) to make an effort in ALL aspects of a marriage, then maybe you should return the ring to Jared’s.

For my exception seeking readers, I do not completely disagree with the option of divorce, only when it is just utilized as a cop out, a button to push to return to the single life simply because hard times have been encountered. I realize that poor relationships exist, and people change, but there is much to be said for truly taking a relationship slowly, getting to know the person, learning the nuances of his or her personality, and observing one’s actions in various situations, to help provide clarity in both parties’ minds of how compatible the two of them, TRULY, are.

To bring it home, while not a necessity to life, I believe marriage serves as an accent, an opportunity to build and share a life with one’s counterpart, and when successful, it is an undeniably beautiful exhibit to behold. Do NOT fear what great can come from the institution of marriage. Choose your partners more carefully, and once in a marriage, work to preserve its sanctity. One of my followers on Twitter, @Pinkroyal, tweeted an insightful remark in response to the marriage statistics, “Without optimism towards life & the institutions of marriage, family, religion, etc., what would be the point? A gloomy life is none at all.” Think on that.

Thanks for CHECKING IN THE GAME with Just GQ! Hopefully, I raised some eyebrows and got the hamster in your mental wheel some exercise (Wait for it!) Stay tuned to Just GQ for more updates, and leave your comments on the blog! God Bless!